Taxpayers got a boost after the Government repeated its assurances the next Budget won’t be as tough as expected.

It was initially feared we would suffer another €2billion in crippling tax hikes and cuts next year to keep the Troika happy.

But Public Expenditure Minister Brendan Howlin gave weary taxpayers a reason to smile today when he said once again that there won’t be as much austerity as first expected.

But, the minister added it was still too early to predict just how much pain will be needed.

He revealed: “I’m not a fortune teller in terms of what might happen in the next number of months.

“But I am confident now we will not require budgetary adjustments anything like the order that were specified in even the most recent medium-term economic forecast.”

Just last month, it was revealed that the strain on public finances was easing after the Government got a massive boost from tax returns.

And the penniless public was heartened to hear that, if the trend continued, it could lead to an easier budget in October. Exchequer returns for May showed the Government took in more tax than it had predicted while spending less.

And that could help ease the pain we’ll feel next year after the Budget is finalised.

It looked like there’d be no let up in austerity when the tough-talking EU Commission intervened last month to insist there should be no let up in austerity.

But Mr Howlin seemed to suggest the Government won’t be bullied by Europe when he moved to reassure us today better times are on the way.

The Department of Finance revealed €15.6billion in tax was collected in the first five months of this year, €446million higher than forecast.

And experts said the glowing performance, if maintained, had the potential to give Finance Minister Michael Noonan extra ammunition to ease the rate at which taxes are hiked and spending is cut on October 14.

Mr Noonan himself even suggested the €2billion in savings planned to help us meet the EU deficit target of 3% in 2015 might not be necessary.

He revealed: “But it’s only early July so there’s a lot of things will move in the next three or four months. We’ll have a better idea as we come closer.”